Hitchhiking on the planet is the story of a rebel who traveled the whole world in protest

For Juan Vililarino, traveling a hitchhiking is more than just an imitation of poverty, as they like to talk about Europeans wandering around the world. For him, this is a pursuit of the world in which he wants to live.

Half Don Quixote, half the Che Guevara, Villarino claims that his wanderings are not only against boredom, but also against the entire superficial way of life in the modern world.

“Work in the office is much more dangerous than driving a hitchhiking,” he wrote in one of his manifestos.

Throughout his life, a peaceful rebel from Argentina has traveled more than 160 thousand kilometers – enough to go around the globe 4 times – and caught 2350 passes in 90 countries of the world. The opportunity to travel, relying exclusively on the kindness of strangers, Juan proves that you can live in the world and trust people, and not be afraid of them and that the cultures of peoples are not distinguished by lines on the map and border posts at the airports.

Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

For the first time, Juan Willieino succumbed to the call of the road when he was 23 years old. Then, in 2001, in his native Argentina there was an economic crisis: inflation depreciated the earnings of entire families, Juan's friends went out onto the streets to protest, and his parents were forced to look for cheaper housing, where there was no extra room for their son.

Then Juan decided to leave his studies-he studied by a psychologist at the National University of Mar-del Plat.

Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

In 2003, Juan moved to Northern Ireland, where he managed to try himself a worker in a cheese factory, a guard at a night club and a receptionist at the hotel, sending his parents to his parents in Buenos Aires.

After a few years of labor and 4 thousand dollars in savings, he made the most important decision in life – to live his years in wandering around the world. With the budget of $ 5 a day, he began with the classical path of all hippies – he drove from Europe to India, stopping on the way in Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The pilgrimage in the Middle East was motivated not so much by the desire to fulfill the dream as by political views and protest against the image of the Arabs and Muslims, which was cultivated by the media during the American military campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Juan talks to the driver in Namibia. Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

At his time, the Juan Belfast workers participated in protests against the war in Iraq with socialist friends, but soon realized for himself that there was little sense from such actions. It was necessary to come up with something convincing, finding a way to truly interest people.

The experience of traveling in the Middle East formed the basis of its first book “Hitchhiking on the Axis of Evil” (the axis of evil is the term for the countries sponsored, according to the USA, terrorism. – approx. Ed.). In it, Juan writes that he travels around the world in order to show human kindness, because “in our time, a demonstration of good human qualities is already a political statement.”

Farewell to fellow travelers after a trip to Kitmanshup. Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

Once, on the border of Afghanistan, Juan nearly broke and did not turn back, but, overcoming in himself, he caught a few passes and reached the city of Herat. There he found an overnight stay and slept, holding a knife under the pillow. The next day, to his shame, he found that people – who, as he thought, could kidnap him – prepared his breakfast.

Having traveled with a fellow traveler, who was abducted after some time, to Kabul and having completed his first trip in Thailand, Villarino stopped for a while in the hostel to work on the draft of his first book.

“Of course, I understand that there are killers and bastards everywhere – they feed on the lie and ignorance that the politicians and leaders of armed groups are fed to them. But even in Afghanistan, torn by the war, people live who will help you without a second thought, give a roof over your head and share your dream with you. After all, you are not eager for peace alone. ”

Visiting a local family. Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

Juan sold a draft publishing house, and the book turned it into a cult hero in Argentina. Once in Buenos Aires, three robbers attacked him and, recognizing Juan, expressed their admiration and offered him money.

From an article about Huan in the Argentine newspaper

Then in Argentina, he met his second half, Laura, and from the day of their acquaintance they travel together around the world with random fellow travelers. Together, they wrote and published the book “Invisible Routes” (Invisible Routes), sales from which are financed by their nomadicism, as well as some educational and cultural circles that they founded.

They live on the road – without a workplace, housing and utility bills, spending $ 7 a day for two.

In an abandoned mining city. Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

Despite the idealistic mission of their wandering, Juan and Laura are realists, and sometimes they have to behave very smartly, even cunningly to survive in nomadicism.

The hitchhiking, according to Juan, is primarily a form of dialogue and properly built communication, and not a test of strength and endurance.

You can never try to catch a passage of sitting – so you hide your physical image from the driver, conceal information – which means that you cause distrust. You need to look as neutral as possible – Juan is specially dressed as a stereotypical “harmless” traveler: comfortable boots, a large backpack, and most importantly – no sunscreen glasses and hats, because it is important to seem as open as possible.

Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

For a couple of homeless tramps, Juan and Laura have a rather dense schedule – at 8 in the morning they are already on the highway, because this is the most running time for long distances.

One car per minute is an abundance, one every 5 minutes – Juan begins to worry. Every 20 minutes – and it becomes clear that you are in the wilderness. Once in Tibet, he waited two days until he caught a single driver.

“Will you stop the car or not – it is entirely on you. The only weapon that I carry with me is an idiotic smile. ”

Juan and Laura on the dining room of the mountain near Cape Town. Photo: Brent Stirton (Brent Stirton)

See also:
Incredible portraits of people from the most distant corners of the planet,
10 travelers who disappeared without a trace under mysterious circumstances,
Exciting photos of a traveler who traveled more than 40,000 km in Australia